Credit

In North America, QR code-based mobile payment apps from Starbucks and LevelUp generate a code for each user, and the merchant scans the code to accept a payment. In Brazil, PicPay is flipping the model and making the consumer scan codes presented by the merchant.

Payments and social media have had a rocky relationship. Many companies that have tried to blend the two have failed or been forced to change their business model. Gumroad Inc., a startup founded by a 20-year-old veteran of Pinterest, says it gets it right.

ICBA Bancard is partnering with the payment processor Vantiv to provide payment services for the Independent Community Bankers of America's member banks.

Walt Disney Co. plans to use “MagicBands,” wristbands with built-in contactless payment technology, at its Disney World theme park in the next few months.

Consumer use of prepaid gift cards grew 10% in 2012, up to $110 billion in card loads, but an increase in fraudulent use of those cards and a growing need to protect consumers could follow, a new report warns.

It's going to be a big year for mobile payments. Now that several mobile wallets are in consumers' hands, the companies behind them are refining their products. What do Apple, Isis, Google, PayPal and others have in mind for the near future?

Visitors of the Vatican Museum in Vatican City will need cash to buy tickets and souvenirs in the aftermath of Italy’s central bank ordering all payment terminals deactivated, AFP reported Jan. 3.

Google's initial launch of its mobile wallet at a special event in New York last year was a flashy affair meant to showcase every feature and every partnership. Its approach this year is much more low-key, as is that of its rival Apple.

In a Q&A with PaymentsSource, CEO Philip Beck explains how technology can help manage the complexity of international payments and the value proposition it brings to merchant acquirers.

Experian has taken a quarterly report of consumer credit data, one that used to be printed and came to hundreds of pages of text and charts, and turned it into a web-based searchable database.

If things are truly bigger in Texas, then mPowa CEO Dan Wagner figures it's a good place for merchants to be able to accept credit card payments via mobile devices in those wide, open spaces.

Consumers continued to pay off their credit cards at historically high rates in the third quarter, with the delinquency rate hitting an 18-year low, according to the American Bankers Association.

Many banks have kept hybrid credit and debit cards in testing mode for lengthy periods, suggesting that single cards offering dual payment options are yet to live up to their initial promise—and may never do so. The one exception: Fifth Third Bank, which says its hybrid Duo card has been a success.

MasterCard Inc. plans to introduce its contactless payment technology into Azerbaijan during the first half of 2013.

With many of its legal questions and organizational issues addressed, the Merchant Customer Exchange has turned its focus to the technology that will drive its mobile commerce initiative.

Discover, which has been testing the features of its new "it" credit card in some markets since mid-2012, announced Jan. 2 the nationwide launch of the product.

PayPal signed many new retail partnerships this year, while also building a digital wallet and a handful of plastic cards to complement its online payment system.

2012 began with the abrupt departure of PayPal's president. Upon putting a new leader in place, the eBay unit made many key moves to adapt its operations and its product line to the fast-changing payments market.

As 2012 progressed, one thing became strikingly clear: the card networks do not want to be left behind as new digital payment methods threaten plastic.

Fraud and data security trends can change by the minute, often making it difficult to pinpoint a specific development as a key event during the course of a year. Not so in 2012.